The former NFL player, who was later tried for the 1994 murders Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, has died after a battle with cancer, according to a family spokesperson.

O.J. Simpson, the former NFL player who later became infamous in the 1990’s following the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman (for which he was tried and later acquitted), has died at the age of 76 after a battle with cancer.

The news of his passing was confirmed by a Simpson family spokesperson on Thursday, April 11.

“On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer,” reads a statement posted to X (formerly Twitter) on April 11. “He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren. During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace.”

E! News further added that reports that Simpson was battling cancer first surfaced earlier this year.

O.J. Simpson’s career and legal issues

Simpson rose to fame during his professional football career in the late 1960s and would later go on to star in films after his time in the NFL.

The retired football player would eventually make headlines for a different reason after he was accused in the wake of 1994 murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, as well as Ron Goldman. He was acquitted of both murders following the 1995 trial that was often called “the trial of the century” as the case gripped the nation and whose verdict has been considered controversial.

However, Simpson was later found civilly liable for the double homicide two years later. His legal issues didn’t end there. He later spent nearly nine years in prison in Nevada in connection with a 2007 crime during which he robbed two sports memorabilia dealers at a Las Vegas hotel at gunpoint; he was paroled in 2007.

In the years since, the late football pro and the 1994 murders and 1995 trial have dominated the pop culture conversation and been the subject of conversation and speculation. Simpson was also the subject of several notable references over the years on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills due to his connections to Faye Resnick and Kathryn Edwards.

Simpson is survived by his four living children: Arnelle and Jason, his children from his first marriage to Marguerite Whitley, as well as Sydney and Justin, his children from his marriage to Nicole Brown Simpson.